Johann Knüpfer 1666787 152365893 2007-08-20T01:35:30Z SmackBot 433328 Defaultsort for people stubs (and/or gen fixes) '''Johann Knüpfer''' (1866-??) was a [[schizophrenic]] [[outsider art]]ist and one of the "schizophrenic masters" profiled by [[Hans Prinzhorn]] in his field-defining work ''[[Artistry of the Mentally Ill]]''. Knüpfer was a baker's apprentice for three years as a youth before moving to a large city where he worked in a cement factory and learned the trade of locksmithing. His friends persuaded him to marry, but the union was unhappy from the start. He was an alcoholic and an abusive husband, and mistrusted not only his wife but everyone he knew. He attempted [[suicide]] in 1902 and was committed soon afterwards. It became evident that he had been having [[paranoia]]c delusions for years, and visions in which [[Christ]] explained why he was being persecuted. He told psychiatrists that "no one had suffered as much, not even Christ" (Prinzhorn 1972, p. 172). His works can be divided into two categories, the formal religious images covered with oracular inscriptions and the paintings of memories from his youth. Both categories display a preoccupation with symmetry and a fascination with circles. ==Resources== * Prinzhorn, Hans. ''Artistry of the mentally ill: a contribution to the psychology and psychopathology of configuration''. Trans. Eric von Brockdorff. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 1972. ISBN 3540055088. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knüpfer, Johann}} [[Category:Outsider artists]] [[Category:1866 births]] [[Category:Year of death missing]] {{artist-stub}}